


Red In The Dark

by Ribbonshalos



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Pre-Relationship, References to Torture and Gas Lighting, Rescue, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 20:04:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16729851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ribbonshalos/pseuds/Ribbonshalos
Summary: Talon has taken Mercy, but the strike team and Blackwatch will not rest until she's brought back safely, especially Genji.





	Red In The Dark

Genji hardly goes into the main facility of the Headquarters for any reason aside from visiting Mercy. Their appointments are routine, save for when he isn’t taken away by a mission. She’s complained to Reyes about that before, how he’s gone most of the time and only ever gets to see him late at night. The combination of anger and worry in her brow is stunning. A question of her emotions expressed entirely for him still makes him wonder, but those thoughts never get far. The luxury of her beautiful face shaded in concern for him is too beautiful to touch.

As to why Reyes ordered McCree and himself here which a grim expression still remains untold. Perhaps another mission involves Talon, or their doings are going to get questioned once again. It doesn’t fit the darker shadow on Reyes eyes however. Something has happened directly to Overwatch.

For a moment, he ponders the reality of Gerard finally getting done in.

The room is already full when he, McCree and Reyes enter. Strike Commander Morrison stands rigid while Captain Amari holds a grim expression. Glancing across the room, Reinhardt sits besides Tracer, who’s doing her best to keep her sobs under control. Torbjorn is nowhere to be seen, in his workshop no doubt.

He can’t see Mercy either. Her missing presence holds no explanation. 

“Go ahead, Strike Commander,” Reyes starts, letting his low voice speak volumes.

The dent in Morrison’s brow increases before he breathes out slowly. He steps towards the Blackwatch Unit.

“What’s this about?” McCree asks, eyeing Amari under the brim of his hat. She doesn’t give any comfort.

“During a mission cleaning up a known Talon facility, Mercy was taken,” Morrison speaks.

Taken… Taken like a candle flame in the middle of a hurricane. 

The news climbs slowly into Genji’s brain before igniting his blood. Both hands, flesh and metal, curl tightly into fists. He wants to attack… someone. He can hardly stand there, looking at their motionless bodies while Mercy is simply gone. 

They don’t have time to waste. 

Tracer’s sob echoes as McCree swears under his breath.

An intrusive image of scarlet staining the white gold of Mercy’s hair makes him close his eyes briefly. A tremor rolls through his scarred tissue and prosthetics. The only good thing he has come to know is being ripped away right under his finger tips. Words left unspoken on his tongue turn poisonous at the thought of only retrieving her corpse.

“You let her get taken? Right under your noses?” McCree demands, barely emitting a fraction of the anger Genji boils with.

“I shouldn’t have left her, but it was only for a moment,” Tracer’s voice cracks, which prompts Reinhardt’s huge hand to pat her back.

“We all made a mistake,” Amari cuts in, sternly. “Now, we need to get her back as quickly as possible. She is an invaluable asset to this team, and we cannot have Talon believing they can simply take one of our own.”

But they let her be taken. They failed to keep her safe.

He’ll get her back. He’ll tear every single man who dared to touch her into careful pieces. If her blood is anywhere, if she is hurt…

She’s Overwatch’s doctor and scientist. They won’t kill her, not without getting information. They have time. He only trusts this.

“We’ll get her back,” Reyes states, vocalizing Genji’s and McCree’s shared thoughts. “We’ll be working together, won’t we, Jack?”

The acid in his tone is physical, and completely understandable. Somehow, one of the world’s most elite soldiers let their medic be kidnapped by one of the world’s worst terrorists organization. All the blame is his, and his alone.

Genji wants to move now. He doesn’t care for this if he can’t act and find her now. Every second they spend simply standing is left to Mercy getting tortured or killed.

A sharp breath leaves him at that. His fingers long to reach for his sword, but he keeps his composure.

“We believe we know where she is,” Morrison begins, finally letting Genji focus his sharp attention, “Since they’re looking to Overwatch to retrieve her, that’s exactly what we’re going to let them see. While we make a show, Blackwatch will infiltrate, and retrieve Mercy.”

Reyes turns his head, receiving their understanding with determined nods.

“We’ll go through the details on the ship, but for now, we have to move. There’s no point to this if we only retrieve her body.”

Tracer swallows roughly at the thought, while Amari and Morrison seem only all the more focused. McCree shifts, anxious to move but Genji is dead still.

He’ll find her, and make sure she’s safe. If he can’t, he’ll make sure that everyone who harmed her isn’t.

*

Whatever Reinhardt is doing, he’s doing his job right. The elderly man’s voice echoes even from inside the facility as the rest of the Overwatch team creates their distraction. The front grounds of the Talon building is shifting into a battlefield quickly enough. Reyes, Genji and McCree slip inside with only a few bodies left behind to mark their entrance. It doesn’t matter. All of Talon’s attention is on the blue uniformed figures outside their gates, not the shadows moving behind them.

“Search every door,” Reyes orders, “We do not leave here without Mercy.”

Genji and McCree share a nod, already barreling down the hallway after their commander. The search leads them only to doctors and scientist, easy people to dispose of. Deeper in the facility, a basement level reveals itself. The Blackwatch unit doesn’t hesitate to descend into the unknown.

A steady fire builds in Genji’s torso. Mixing with the wires and blood of his person, he feels it roar with every swipe of his sword. Somewhere, Mercy is here. He can feel it in whatever remains of his center.

His grip on his sword tightens at the thought of what condition they’ll find her in. The promise of doing tenfold to the agents of Talon that which was done to Mercy remains true on his tongue.

A lone room opens up to their view. Reyes takes lead, blasting away a man in a lab coat who hardly reacted in time to grab the gun on his hip. A flashbang stuns another as Genji dashes forward. A lab takes over the room. At the end, two rooms are separated with a small hallway. One has a window while the other remains mysterious.

“Reyes,” Genji calls, striding forward without hesitance.

“Wait, Genji,” he says, but his sword holds careful in his hands. The dark room holds something, whether it be pleasant or not.

He smashes the handle, destroying the keypad while shoving his body weight against it. His shoulder drives forward with force before it cracks the frame, breaking the metal seal entirely. The door swings inward into darkness. Genji draws his sword back into a careful hold.

The harsh, white light from the lab room spills into the darkness. Refracting off the floor, it blinds the woman hunched in the corner of the room.

Mercy, kneeling and bound, blinks rapidly against the suddenly light. For how long she was stuck in the darkness remains unknown, perhaps for the sake of his own anger. Her hair lays down against her shoulders in a disarrange of dirt and blood while pieces of her blue uniform is torn. The light still keeps her from opening her eyes fully as she attempts to see the person standing in the doorway.

A soft release touches upon the fire in his chest. It smothers out, content to see her breathe and move. Soundlessly, Genji sheaths his word, stepping towards her.

“Angela,” he breathes, almost cries out softly. She jerks at his voice, still squinting through her eyelids to his gently approaching figure.

Her tense posture freezes as he kneels in front of her. The red upon his body reflects off the walls in the corner she hunches in. Flinching away at his initial touch upon her, her eyelids slowly open to the new light. 

“Angela,” he says again. The other door behind him breaks with a spurred kick from McCree, but that interrogation room is empty. A sound of relief falls from Reyes mouth as McCree says Mercy’s name as well.

Their relief is a little stream compared to the ocean of comfort flooding his chest.

She blinks slowly. Testing the metal clasps on her wrists, she blinks upon his figure. In the shadowy corner of the dark room, his body brings a strange red light to them. After a moment, her eyes open, and stay upon him weakly.

“Genji?” she asks softly, suspend in disbelief.

An impulse ignites Genji’s fingertips. It raises his hand to her cheek and brushes away the hair stuck on the corner of her mouth. His flesh hand holds her warmth, comforting himself with her safe being in that moment.

He doesn’t know what he would have become if he had only found her motionless heart.

“Genji,” she says, stronger and fearful now as she leans toward him. The blue skirt she dons is ripped and dirty. Her face is raked with scratches, staining the once pale, flawless skin.

“Mercy,” Reyes speaks as he and McCree fill the room as well. Their guns are still drawn as McCree watches the entranceway, but Reyes joins Genji is crouching beside the doctor. “Are you able to be moved?”

Another wave of relief falls over her cheeks at Reye’s steady tone. She swallows roughly as Genji takes a hold of her arms.

“Yes,” she gives roughly.

“Good. Can you run by yourself?” Reyes contiunes.

She hesitates, a strike of fear touching her eyes. The emotion upon her seizes Genji’s chest with the urge to draw his sword and destroy whoever made that exist within her.

“No. They’ve been drugging me with sedatives when I refused to cooperate. I am… weak and disoriented.”

The last part comes out with thick emotion in her tones. Genji tightens his hold on her arms. Only her wrists are bound, but the metal will be impossible to cut through without fear of harming her skin. They’ll have to get Torbjorn to cut through her chains later.

“I knew you wouldn’t make it easy for them, Doc” McCree drawls, sparing an easy expression to her tight face. She only manages to not grimace in response at McCree’s lighthearted attempt. When her eyes fall away from McCree’s, however, Genji notes the quiet anger in his irises.

“We’re getting you out of here, Mercy,” Reyes looks to Genji.

Wordlessly, he offers his arms to her. There’s a slow hesitance to lift her bound wrists over his head, but it comes from her weaken state rather than his unnatural body. She slips into his hold almost numbly, like she can do little else. Her cheek comes to lie against his flesh shoulder as he shifts her close to his chest. A weary breath betrays how exhausted she really is. His anger flares, but cools rapidly.

He will get her back safety.

Getting to his feet, he lifts her as smoothly as possible. The weight in his arms feels natural, as if his arms were carved to hold her warm but trembling person. Mercy looks up briefly to him as they move from the room. No harm is coming upon her as Reyes and McCree take point, covering Genji as he carries her.  

“Did you guys find Tracer already?” she asks, worried. She blinks rapidly against the more intense light of the lab room as Genji ducks his head to shadow her face. 

McCree turns his head, confused, “What do you mean, Doc?”

Mercy’s hands around his neck tighten, visibly disturbed. His hold secures her for a moment as her breathing becomes harsh.

“Talon has Tracer, too,” she says, “We have to find her.”

Reyes lowers his shotguns, taking his focus away from their escape route.

“Mercy, they only took you, Tracer is with the rest of the team,” Reyes explains firmly, although a grim shadow hovers over his brain.

Gas lighting. The sharp look McCree shares with Reyes is evident of the same thought. They were trying to ruin her mind.

Mercy’s harsh breath quietens into a mixture of relief and weakness. Falling back against his shoulder as if defeated, she lets her weak limbs hold in his grasp. Her hold tightens upon him. The chains strain against her wrists as red already stains her skin.  For a scarce moment, Genji dips his face plate down to her hair and presses it against the white gold. Her eyelashes brush against his shoulder as her eyes close.

He’ll keep her safe. No one else will touch her.

“You will be alright,” Genji whispers. The only response he receives is the slightest shift of her temple upon his skin.

“Let’s get her out of here,” Reyes orders, climbing the stairs.

“Come on, Doc,” McCree ushers, waiting for Genji to ascend first. Between their commander and sharp shooter, Mercy couldn’t be more protected. He has her in his arms now, that’s all he needs.

The hallway still displays their time of entrance. Bodies litter the floor and the cries of gunfire and Reinhardt’s shouting slip in from outside.

“Reinhardt?” Mercy asks against him.

“He and the others are creating a distraction,” Genji says.

A thunderous boom echoes, signaling Reinhardt’s hammer shattering the ground. 

“A big distraction,” McCree mutters as they near the door they came through.

“Reyes here,” he speaks into his commlink as they get through the ruined door. McCree watches Mercy’s head as Genji slips them through ripped metal. His wires catch for a moment but she is untouched. “We’ve got Mercy. She’s a little out of it but she’s in one piece.”

The heavy motor of a drop-ship signals above them. The wind whips at her hair but she presses her face into his shoulder. Turning his body to shield her from the approaching ship, Genji feels her fingers curl slightly around his neck as if she’s afraid to let go.

Genji has had little joy in his time after his brother, but here, feeling her breath, although weak, he is grateful. The fear of losing her is illogical, as he never had her. Yet, here he holds her as if a body of gold and diamonds promises him the world’s greatest treasure.

Hidden behind his metal face plate, his jaw moves. He is ruined and beyond repair, but his lips still want to kiss her hair. Mercy is the comfort that he has found through the pain and lost. The blue of her eyes keep his rage under his palms.

He cannot exist in a reality without her, if not close to her.

His cheek presses again to her head. Comfort, to both parts. She shifts as the drop-ship reaches ground level and whispers something against his throat.

“Angela?” he tries to ask above the roar of the ship. Her lips don’t move again as McCree pats his shoulder and urges them forward.

“Get on, now,” Reyes orders. Genji is swift to carry her inside. In moments, the whirl of the wind dies as the door folds back into place. Mercy’s eyes widen at the dimmer light of the interior of the ship, undoubtedly making her guarded. Softly, Genji lowers them both into a seat underneath a light. She stays in his lap, surveying the other Blackwatch agents and the inside of the ship for a second before letting her tense posture fall again.

Reyes remains standing, unable to sit down like McCree with a calmer expression.

“We’re out, what is your position?”

A pause grows before he nods slowly. A fraction of the hardness in his brow melts away.

“Good. The med bay is already prepped for her. Torbjorn will need to bring his cuff cutters… and bring Tracer too. They need to see each other,” he adds. “Reyes out.”

Letting his hand drop from his ear piece, he looks over to Mercy still held in Genji’s arms, now situated in his lap. Her cuffed wrists keep her wrapped around his neck, perhaps helping her hold on entirely.

“We’re on our way to Headquarters. Can you hold out until then, Mercy?” Reyes ask. His expression is still hard, but the rare concern of the commander shines through his tone. Her head nods slowly. The wild mess of her hair brushes against his skin.

“I’m okay now,” she says, letting Reyes nod in affirmation before he slips away into the cockpit.

She holds still for a moment, breathing in quietly. It’s as if she still doesn’t believe that she’s free, or away from the dark room. The thought of that place makes him want to burn it down, but she’s here now. He has her. No one will harm her.

He doesn’t want to let her go. If he fights for someone, besides his own selfish reasons, he would fight the armies of the earth for her. 

“How many days as has it been since I was taken?” her voice comes quietly. Blue eyes focus on him, uncertain.

“Four,” he answers. Four days since they find out she was gone and four days to find her. She doesn’t understand how much easier it is for him to think now.

“Four,” she murmurs, creasing her brow with uncertainty. “I thought they had me for a week…”

“They wanted to confuse you, make you think up meant down and down meant up,” McCree speaks up from across the ship. His hat hides the harsh light in his eyes. “They wanted to screw with your head.”

“I know…” she murmurs, looking to him, still confused, “I know but they kept putting me to sleep when I wouldn’t give them information. In the darkness, and being drugged, I couldn't… I didn’t know what how long it was.”

His arms tighten around her, as if someone is going to attack her now and drag her back to the pitch black room.

“I recognized your red light, Genji,” she murmurs suddenly. He stills to listen better to her weak voice. “Once one’s eyes are adjusted to the dark, red light won’t disturbed that. I knew it was you, but I didn’t believe it at first…”

The red shine to his metallic parts are a sign of fear for his enemies, but for once, for her, it was a sign of hope. Someone to chase away the darkness while still being in it.

How strange to not be the killer lurking in the shadows to her.

He leans down to whisper back to her, “When morning comes, you’ll see how much sunshine there is.”

The first smile since her disappearance breaks out in a small, exhausted tug of her lips. Her breath huffs in a manner like a laugh but not quite as she settles against him.

“Will you see it with me?”

The question weighs against him, pressing in the space between his lungs. He never had plans of leaving her presence anytime soon. Although she should be resting once they get her to Headquarters, the light will help steady her.

“Yes,” he says. This earns her quiet gaze before she closes her eyes.

“Angela?” he asks, unable to help disturb her again.

“Hmm?”

“What did you say, when the ship was landing?”

Her lips had moved, and her throat buzzed with words but he didn’t catch them in the violent whirl of the wind. 

She doesn’t speak for a moment.

“I’m tired, Genji,” she says, not as an answer. That’s not the three words he wonders if she spoke under the wind. 

“I know,” he shifts to hold her better against himself. Her cheek falls against the curve of his flesh shoulder.

He’ll ask her again, when they watch the sun rise.

*

When the airship lands, Reyes and McCree are already out of Genji’s way as he carries Mercy out. The Overwatch team is minutes behind but he will not wait for them. He doesn’t bother with the stretcher the medical staff have ready. As he steps quickly through the headquarters, Mercy squints at the brighter, fluorescent lights while hiding almost against the curve of his neck.

The medbay is prepared as a doctor takes in the rushing cyborg and Mercy’s appearance with a steel calm.

“Set her right here,” he instructs.

Readjusting his grip, Genji lowers Mercy onto the bed. It takes a moment for her to raise her still cuffed wrists over his head. She holds herself up right enough to stay on the edge of the bed, but her shoulders are hunched. Her fingers curl into tenses fists for a moment as she slumps over, exhausted and still reeling from the burst of sedatives Talon pumped her with.

Genji’s hands hover, wary of her outright collapsing before she gives a reassuring nod. To lie down would be best for her, but the doctor has his duties. She has enough strength to do this. Genji slips to the head of the bed, out of the way but staying within her sights. The small motion of him moving away a few feet creates a fleeting glimpse of panic in her eyes until he stills along the wall. Quietly, the doctor begins asking her questions, surveying the damage with a few hand presses to her ribs and ankles. No broken bones at least.

“Ah, the Overwatch airship just landed,” the doctor speaks confidently, listening to the commlink in his ear. “In a just a moment, we’ll get your wrists bandaged up. Dr. Ziegler, are you alright to wait until Torbjörn arrives?”

Mercy gives a slow nod. A soft breath leaves her parted lips, but nothing more. The shackles clink together for a moment as she lets her hands fall into her lap.

“Good. I won’t have you overwhelmed, but we’ll get you recovering as soon as possible.”

The doctor calls to another medical staff, informing her about the engineer’s arrival. She leaves to stand in wait. For a moment, Genji wonders if the doctor would be bold enough to ask him to leave, but makes no indication of doing so. He waits and observes Mercy. Her blue eyes flit over to him, hardly able to stay open. The light doesn’t blind her anymore in the least. Her shoulders rise and fall with a struggled, slow kind of motion. A tension moves through Genji, but he still waits for the doctor’s orders.

He’s already made sure she’s safe, but he lingers. There are others things to reassure about her well being. It’s almost irritating how worried he is over her. The urge to yell at the doctor to let her rest already is tempting, but he keeps silent.

Genji looms as the careful hands of the doctor clean Mercy’s cuts and go over her bruises. He asks if she knows what drugs they used on her, but Mercy can only shake her head no. It causes him to press his lips in thought, noting that they’ll make sure her system is clean of any linger substances soon enough.

“I know how strong you are, Dr. Ziegler, but I want you to talk with Dr. Collins when you’re rested up. We don’t want to leave anything unchecked,” he smiles gently, but Genji tenses at the mentioned person.

A psych evaluation may be what she needs with the trauma she went through, but Genji doesn’t want her going anywhere. Not yet. Mercy breathes out quietly at this, but doesn’t respond. Perhaps too tired to think about such things now or too tired to argue.

The door to the medbay opens. Swiftly, the medical assistant leads Torbjörn and Tracer to Mercy’s bed. The shorter man is carrying a set of sleek, metal cutters while Tracer still dons her blue cadet cap. Her eyes widen up Mercy’s appearance, blinking forward without any hesitation.

“Mercy, love, I’m so glad you’re back,” Tracer rushes, almost ramming into the bed.

“Lena,” Mercy breathes out, gaining energy at the cadet’s face. There is few dirt smudges and cuts into Tracer’s uniform, but she is radiationing like the sun. Whole and well. Relief pushes through Mercy like a wave as they take each other’s hands.

“I’m glad to be back,” she says, struggling to smile with the cut digging into her cheek but she attempts it anyways. “I was worried about you.”

“Wha—about me? Mercy, I’m the one who left you to get taken, and here you are wondering about…” Tears prick at the corners of Tracer’s eyes. “I’m so sorry, love.”

“Lena, it’s alright,” Mercy isn’t able to squeeze Tracer’s fingers much, but the cadet’s tight grip does it well enough for her. “I’m okay. I know you didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“Rookie,” Torbjorn grumbles, moving in between Tracer and Mercy. “I need to get these cuffs off Angela, they’re hurting my wrists by just looking at them.”

Being shoved aside hardly puts a damper onto Tracer’s tearful joy at seeing Mercy in one piece. Genji leans forward to view Torbjörn’s carefully handling of Mercy’s bleeding wrists. He can’t name how many times they had to use the same cutters after getting out of bad situations within a Blackwatch mission. The refined cutters slice through the metal cuffs as if they are tissue paper. Mercy gasps softly in pain as the chains fall from her wrists.

“There we go, much better,” Torbjorn says, kicking the ruined cuffs aside. “You had Ingrid and I worried there for a little bit, Angela.”

“Oh, Torbjörn,” Mercy lifts her gaze, a little lighter now as she rubs her bleeding wrists, “You know I don’t mean to.”

“Of course not, but you should know that Ingrid will be sending some of her apple pie once she hears about your safe return.”

Somehow her expression lifts all the more. A smile threatens to touch behind his face plate with Mercy’s sheer joy at the mere thought of her favorite dessert.

“You must save some for me,” she almosts begs, tired but lifted. Torbjörn nods before he pats a space on her arm that isn’t bruised or scratched.

“I will,” the engineer promises, “Come on, rookie, let’s have the doctor work in peace.”

Leading Tracer away, Torbjorn grumbles as she lingers over Mercy’s frame before they finally exit. The worry in her face is at least settled, but the guilt still lingers on her cheekbones. Genji doesn’t ponder on Tracer’s action. It will only make him angry when Mercy still looks to him for that air of safety.

Mercy’s wrists are cleaned and bandaged in a few moments. A quiet rush of anger touches through his system at the red already spotting the white cloth in moments. The rush of running someone through his sword burns in his veins, but that part is already over. Genji loathe the sight of her bleeding, much less how little he can do for her now.

The doctor calls the medical assistants over again, intrustcing her once again. Mercy needs to change out of that dirty uniform and into something clean and soft. For a moment, Mercy moves her lips to argue but settles at the option of clean cotton. Genji steps towards her before the doctor can begin to ask. He considers Genji’s presence lightly before before telling him to follow his assistant.

Gently sweeping her into his arms again, they shift against each other familiarly. Her head tilts back more as her cuffs are no longer able to anchor her hands around his neck. Adjusting his grip, Mercy groans softly.

“Hold on,” he murmurs into her hair.

Walking as carefully as possible to the the bathroom, the woman informs Genji she’ll help her from there. He hesitates to lower Mercy onto her feet, but the assistant knows what she’s doing. Slowly, Genji slips Mercy’s arm over the assistant who quickly slips her into the bathroom with the bundle of white clothes. Hovering before the door is shut in his face, the assistant promises they’ll be just a moment. It’s not his place, but to have her out of his sights is undesirable. There is no patience within Genji to wait for her to be alright.

Minutes pass, feeding the anxiety within him. Standing as a statue against the white wall, Genji falls back to the incoherent whisper Mercy gave underneath the rush of wind.

He told her everything would be alright once she saw the sunshine. The clock reads as nearly dawn. The real sun compared to all these harsh white lights will hopefully have a calming effect. She’ll know that it’s real.

The assistant opens the door, holding Mercy upon her shoulder. A white cotton shirt and pants make her haggard appearance softer. The mess of her hair and scratches still remain, but that will heal as she rests. Genji quietly moves to lift her in his arms again. It feels natural to hold her now. As if her warm body against his chest is something he should have known long ago.  

In a form of quick and careful, Genji takes her back to the bed. Mercy doesn’t try to sit up this time as she simply lets the pillow cradle her head. Her eyes blink slowly as the doctor dismisses the assistant, and sets to preparing an IV drip.

Her expression twists into discomfort at the sight of the needle and tube through which clear liquid shines.

“I don’t want to sleep,” she says, twisting her arms up to loosely cross over her chest. The same tense, braced posture as when he first found her in the dark room comes back to her limbs full force. Genji steps closer to her bedside, uncertain of his actions but needing to be in her field of vision.

“I know you don’t want to, Dr. Zigler, but you’ll fall asleep on your own accord anyways.” The doctor is gentle but firm. “This will simply clear out any of Talon’s drugs from your system and help you heal. We have to be thorough.”

Her gaze shifts to him. Fear tugs at the corner of her eyes but the rational side of her knows she’s being difficult. Conflicted. Genji inches his hand towards her. His fingertips end up on the bed sheets, but not against her shoulder or hand. He wants to curl up around her. He wants to hold her again. He wants to banish the fear Talon placed into her.

He wants her to know it’s going to be alright.

How many times did she murmur soft, gentle things while she was keeping his heart going? Those memories are blurry at best, and a dark, distance dream at most, but he knows the meaning of her voice in those times. Even as he did reel from his brother’s betrayal and new alliance, she stayed the same. Constant and soft.

“Doctor,” Genji says, he doesn’t know this one’s name. He’s not his doctor. “Let her have thirty minutes before giving her the medicine.”

To loom as threatenly as he does, and speak with a low, sharp voice has done wonders in the past before. It does the same now, putting the doctor on edge before he sighs.

“You’ll probably already be asleep when I come back, but I will make sure you’re alright, Dr. Ziegler.”

Mercy twists upon the bed, settled for now. The thought of sleeping again still lingers in the back of her face as her brow crumbles wearily.

“Thank you,” she says to the doctor before he takes his leave. An annoyed glance falls from over his shoulder to Genji, but he lets them be.

The door clicks into place, leaving Genji and Mercy alone. She turns on the bed, curling her legs into her chest as she lies on her side. Her eyes lift to him, looking at him as if still unsure that she’s free from Talon.

Wordlessly, Genji walks around the bed. The weight of blue eyes upon him keeps up as he goes to the window. The blinds are closed. Taking the cord between his fingers, he tugs it until the horizon of the watchtpoint is visible through the glass. The sky is already turning into a light blue, but the sun is still hidden. The edge of sunlight threatens to spill over any moment now.

When Genji turns around, Mercy has already shifted to her other side. Still curled up, she stares at the window with a quiet exhaustion. The cuts on her cheeks still stab at Genji’s rib cage, but there is no more fear on her eyelashes.

He walks back to her bedside, set on keeping his word. He stands silently out of her way, but her fingers pat silently on top of the sheets. Slowly, Genji sits on the edge, aware of the extra space due to her scrunched and guarded position.

His own fingers tense before he loosens them. She doesn’t need his wrath upon their enemies now.

“I’m glad Reyes sent Tracer in,” she murmurs so low Genji isn’t sure he hears her right. “I… They kept telling me they were hurting her everytime I refused to reveal my research.”

Genji tilts his head. A sprawl of white gold decorates her pillow as her eyes remain on the skyline. She seems so small now, afraid. It’s amazing she’s not worst off. A few intrusive thoughts of finding her mutilated corpse still plague Genji, but he bats them away with the slow rise and fall of her breaths.

“You still didn’t tell Talon anything,” Genji speaks softly. Hopefully it is comforting.

Her fingers tighten, one hand hovers over the other bandaged wrist.

“They refuse to show her to me, so I hoped…” Mercy stops to control her voice. “Oh, I hoped so much that they were just saying anything to get to me, but I wasn’t so sure after the third time they put me to sleep.”

A concoction of fire and the urge to reach over and touch her shoulder invades Genji’s chest. He hesitates, but Mercy is the one to slip her hand across the sheets to where he sits. Taking away the uncertainty, Genji lets his fingers overlap onto the bandages of her wrists and the back of her hand. Loose and barely holding on, they share each other’s fingertips.

She’s safe. He makes sure she’s safe here. He won’t let anything happen to her now.

The first rays of sun spill over the horizon. It doesn’t touch the earth yet, but the soft light seems to let Mercy breathe easier. Her eyelids keep moving slowly. Her fingers wrapping around his hand become still before she suddenly flinches away, afraid of the dark behind closed eyes.

“Angela,” Genji says, “It’s alright. You can sleep now.”

Mercy’s eyes still remain half open, but an exhausted grin tugs at her lips. Her hair shifts along the pillow as she turns her eyes upon him.

“I know… I’m just being stubborn.”

He agrees with that, but knows that her fear of resting isn’t just from her hard head. Genji feels her fingers tighter over his. He squeezes back, not wanting to linger on his scarred hand overlapping her pale, scratched and bandaged skin.

“Angela,” he asks now, still holding her gaze.

“Yes, Genji?”

He draws a deep breath as the few beams of sunlight touches the room. He needs to know.

“When the ship was landing, you said something to me.” As gently as possible, Genji presses the question again. “What was it?”

Her gaze drops when he says this, not surprised that her first attempt to answer this question didn’t take. Soft breaths raise her torso several times before she meets his eyes once more.

The sunlight touches her face when she parts her lips.

“I trust you.”

Genji stills. The sentence almost doesn’t register within him. The utterance from her lips is surreal, even as she holds nothing but sincerity in her cheekbones.

He doesn’t deserve her. Not one moment of their closeness should have been his but he trusts no one else to carry her. He is not the only one conflicting himself. It kindles an old flame within, the one he’s tried to douse before in her presence. It still longs to touch her hair but his body is not something of pleasure anymore. He can’t have her.

But he still wants to believe her can.

She doesn’t deserve him.

Genji leans down, weak and overwhelmed by the three simple words upon her satin voice. The back of her hand is rough with cuts but he presses it gently to the center of his chest. Mercy looks with oceans crashing against him. It is a mess of wires and scared flesh but the heart of a man still beats inside of him. If all else of him is nothing, he wants her to trust this.

He lowers their still entwined fingers back to the bed sheets. Mercy doesn’t look away from his unnatural eyes and face plate.

“Sleep, Angela,” he insists quietly. “The sun will come back for you.”

Strong emotions cross her face, but he can’t pinpoint their meaning. She settles in the pillow, watching the sunrise. Gently, Genji squeezes her fingers when her eyes slip close. He stays still as her breaths become deeper, more relaxed. He remains even when the doctor comes back, and slips an IV drip into her arm.

Mercy’s eyes flash open at the needle piercing her skin. Ripping away from the doctor’s grip, Mercy attempts to reach for the needle but Genji snatches her wrist. She’s going to hurt herself.

“Genji,” she cries out softly in panic. Genji leans over her. Shifting his grip to hold her upper arms down at her sides, the doctor takes back Mercy’s arm again.

“It’s alright, it’s alright,” he murmurs as she struggles in his hold. The Talon doctors must still be clawing at the edges of her vision. Its as if she sees through him, but something stops her feet from kicking out. The doctor fixes the medicine. It should be trickling into her veins now.

A deeper, slow breath falls back into the rhythm of her lungs. She refuses to look from his eyes, holding him as if afraid of falling endlessly. His heart twists in the force of her fight.

“It’s okay. I’m with you,” he says gently. He softens his hold as her muscles seem to unlock. A calm slowly comes upon her. Hesitantly, Genji lifts one hand away but keeps his fingers resting by her arm.

“I know,” she finally murmurs as her eyelids become heavier. Her fingers search, and he lets her find what she desires. His hand interlocks with her weak fingers. He hates how much the warmth of her palm calms him.

A new sleep takes her away. Fear no longer pulls at every corner of her person. For once, Genji releases a harsh breath before squeezing her limp hand once.

She’s safe. That’s all that he needs.

He stays until Reyes calls him away from Mercy’s beside.


End file.
